Gene Simmons Explains Why KISS Canceled Vegas Residency

Gene Simmons Explains Why KISS Canceled Vegas Residency
KISS is planning to re-schedule their Las Vegas residency.

KISS is planning to re-schedule their Las Vegas residency, according to an interview with bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The initial shows were canceled in October. “Our original plan was to come in just before New Year’s, but it was just too busy,” Simmons said. “When I came into town and joined my friend Dave Grohl onstage, that same night you could see George Strait at T-Mobile Arena, literally across the street. You go down the street and you can see many more artists. I mean, it’s packed. There are more artists per square inch in a city that never sleeps than anyplace on the planet.”

KISS said that the band would revisit the idea sometime in 2022. “With all due respect to other all the other artists who are terrific, and who are great and iconic, we’d rather wait for the traffic to die down and bring the best show on Earth, period,” he said.

KISS’ longtime manager Doc McGhee also said that travel restrictions played a part in looking to reschedule the dates. “When we did it, I said we’re gonna go until November 1 and see if we can get the people in from Europe,” McGhee said to The Rock Experience. “We have one chance for people to come to Vegas to see us because Gene and Paul will not tour after 2022; they’re gonna be done. So when we couldn’t get the people in, and the restrictions were there, I said, ‘We don’t have to do it now.’ We talked about it: ‘Let’s do it later down the road when everybody gets a chance to see a different section of KISS.’ This isn’t KISS, the stage show that we have today, this isn’t KISS 2.0 or any of that stuff — this will be a whole different vibe that people wanna come and see. And we’re gonna do 12 shows. Let people be able to come and see ’em for the last time in Vegas.”

KISS previously performed a Vegas residency in November 2014 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino. The 9-show run was captured for the “Kiss Rocks Vegas” DVD and Blu-ray set, which was released in August 2016.

B.J. LISKO
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